Improvement in machines for manufacturing compound lumber



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

I W. E. BROCK. MACHINES FOR MANUFACTURING COMPOUND LUMBER.

P'atented' July 3,1877.

ZSheetsSheet 2.

W. E. BROCK.

MACHINES FOR MANUFACTURING COMPOUND LUMBER. No. 192,673. Patented July 3,1877.

-PEIERS, PHOTD-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON D C.

' poses. 1

UNITED STATES WILLIAM E. BROGK, on NEW YORK, N. Y. r

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR MANUFACTURING COMPOUND LUMBER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 192,673, dated July 3, 1877; application filed March 7, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. BRooK, of New York city, New York, have invented certain Improvements in Machines for Manufacturing Compound Lumber, of which the following is a specification My invention relates to machinery for manufacturing compound lumber, consisting of boards, the faces of which are longitudinally grooved, so'that on forcing the two boards to gether the ribs of one will enter the grooves of the other, thereby effecting a perfect junction of the two boards, one of which may be of walnut or other comparatively expensive and ornamental wood, the other board being a backing of pine or other cheap wood.

The object of my invention is to rapidly manufacture these compoun boards readyfor use as flooring, wainscoting, and other pur- In the accompanying ,drawing, Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a plan View of my machine for manufacturing compound lumber; Fig. 2, Sheet 1, a vertical section on the line 1 2; Fig. 3, Sheet 2, a sectional plan on the line 3 4, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a vertical section drawn to an en larged scale on the line 5 6, Fig. 1; Fig. 5, an enlarged sectional view of part of the machine Fig. 6, a view showing the manner of uniting the boards, and Fig. 7 a perspective view of one of the compound boards.

A is the base of the machine, above which a table, B, is supported'by suitable posts. 7

A wedge-shapd block, D, is secured to the top of the table, as are also two blocks, E and E, these blocks serving as guides for the two boards which have to be .united, one board passing through the inclined space between the two guiding-blocks D and E, and the other through the space between the blocks D and E, so that the boards, which are wide apart from each other at the front end of the machine, converge as they approach the rear, and are united in the manner described hereinafter.

On one side of the block D is a verticallyadjustable pressureroller, F, for bearing on the edge of one of the boards, and on the opposite side is a similar roller, F, for bearing on the edge of the other board.

On vertical shafts H, which have their bearof each of which has a number of recesses at equal distances apart, so as to separate the edge into a series of independent cutters which make in the face of the board a series of longitudinal parallel grooves, as seen in Figs. 5, 6, and 7.

A grating, 01, is let into each side of the guide-block D, the board being pressed against the grate by the adjoining feed-roller, and the bars being far enough apart to permit the cutters of each knife to project between them and act on the face of the board. This is an important feature of my invention, as the grates afford such solid bearings for the boards that the longitudinal grooves will be made with a clean out.

On each side of the guide-block D is a cir cular saw, K, each saw being secured to an inclined spindle, L, which has its bearings on the under side of the table B, the object of these saws being to sever a strip of the desired thickness from the board, for it must be understood that the latter is generally thicker than the desired strip. After passing the saw the strip passes'through the space between the blocks D and E or E, while the remaindervof the board passes to the outside of the latter blocks, and is again passed through the machine until too thin for use.

M M are two vertical pressure-rollers, the space between which is directly opposite the point where the two converging guidingspaces between the blocks D and E E meet. As the two boards a; and as, each of which has been grooved on one side, approach the pressure-rollers M M, their relative vertical positions are so altered that the ribs between the grooves of one are opposite to the grooves of the other, (see Fig. 6,) and on passing between the rollers the two boards are pressed together, and the ribs of one forced into the grooves PATENT OFFIon.

of the other, thereby effecting a. perfect junc- I tion of the two boards.

The means which I prefer for effecting the alteration in the relative vertical positions of the two boards are shown in Figs. 1', 2, and 6, and consist of two ribs, 6 0, extending from a point adjacent to the cutter J to the point of the block D.

At the rear end-that is, at the end adjacent to the cutter J --the ribs 0 are in line with each other and with one of the cutting-knives of the cutter J but one or both of the ribs are inclined longitudinally, so that at thepoint of the block D the bottom of one rib is in line with the top of the other. (See Figs. 2 and 6.)

The alteration in thevertical position of the two boards as they approach the pressurerollers M M may, however, be made by an inclined bearing for the edge of one of the boards; or, if desired, there may be two rotary cutters, J, one for each board, their knives being relatively so arranged that the A ribs of one board will be directly opposite the grooves of the other from the first, in which case the strips emay be straight, as there will be no necessity for any'vertical alteration of the relative position of the boards as they approach the pressure-rollers M M.

As the compound board passes from between these rollers the upper edge is subjected to the action of the upper rotary cutter N, and the lower edge to that of the lower on tter' N, the cutters being such that a tongue will be formed on one edge of thecompound board, and a groove on the other, as shown in Fig. 7 but when compound boards for purposes other than flooring, wainscoting, and equivalent uses are required, plain cutters may be substituted for the cutters N N, or these cutters may be dispensed with.

The several moving parts of the machine are driven in the following manner:

The driving-shaft P has its bearin gs on suiti'ng mechanism, substantially as set forth, with able standards It h. secured to the base of the machine, and on this-shaft is a drum, Q, from which'a counter-shaft, T, is driven, this shaft having a worm, R, gearing into a worm-wheel, S, on a vertical shaft, V, from a double pulley pressure rollers'G G are driven by suitable belts.

The-inclined shafts L of the circular saws are-drivendirectly by V-shaped belts from the drum Q, as are also the shafts of the rotary cutters.

Another rotarycutter, U, issecured to a vertical shaft driven from the drum Q, this cutter being such that its kniveswill impart a finished face to one side of the compound board as it passes from between the pressurerollers M M. ()ne of these rollers is secured to the upper end of the shaft V, and serves to draw the compound board forward after it has passed from the control of the-.feed and pressure rollers G G.

It will be observed in Figs. 1 and 2 that the bearings of both rollers M M and of the worm S are rendered adjustable laterally, to suit boards of varying thickness.

It will be seen that all the moving parts of the machine are driven from the drum Q that the saws and cutters can be driven at the proper rapid speed by direct belts, and that the desired slow rotationof the feed-rollers is attained from the same drum through the intervention of the worm and. worm-wheel.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, in a machine for making compound lumber, of a rotary cutter for grooving two boards, pressure-rollers for forcing the grooved boards together, and converg ing guides for directing the boards from the cutters to the rollers, all substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a rotary cutter having a series of grooving-knives, a grate through which the grooving knives project, and a pressure-roller for causing a board to bear against the grate, all substantially as described.

3. The combination of the rotary cutter J," the converging guides, pressureand feed rollers G G, and pressure-rollers F F;

4. The combination of tonguing and grooving mechanism, substantially as described, with the inclined block D and the. blocks E and E, forming aconverging guide, as set:

1 forth.

5. The combination of tonguing and" groovthe inclined guiding-block D, and the circular saws K on opposite sides of said block.

6. The combination of the block D and its .inclined'ribse with; the cutter or cutters J on which the shafts H H of the two feed and i name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

In testimony whereof I have signed my WILLIAM E; BROOK.

Witnesses:

HENRY HowsoN, Jr., HARRY SMITH. 

